I think food, culture, people, and landscape are all absolutely inseparable.
Anthony Bourdain, Interview with CNTraveler
Anthony Bourdain, Interview with CNTraveler
1972: Lucerne, Switzerland
My first taste of Swiss cheese fondue in Lucerne
The photo below is the Swiss Pavilion at the 1964 World's Fair in Queens, New York.
Swiss fondue was first promoted in the U.S. at the pavilion's Le Chalet Restaurant
Swiss fondue was first promoted in the U.S. at the pavilion's Le Chalet Restaurant
2000: Savannah, Georgia
Paul somewhere in Savannah
Paul eats to live. I live to eat. Our day in Savannah included an argument over nachos
in an outdoor cafe and a marvelous dinner at the iconic Old Pink House
 |  |
2001: Moscow, Russia
Joshua and I had lunch at KFC one afternoon in Moscow. Josh ordered a two-piece
chicken meal but, luckily, got two meals. Meals are a lot smaller in Russia.
 |  |
2003: Postojna, Slovenia
Tamas and Spela at Gostilna Polar enjyong a drink before our expensive lunch at a tourist restaurant
Left: Gostilna Polar with the Predjama Castle in the background
Right: Dunajski zrezek, or chicken schnitzel, for lunch
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2004: Beijing, China
Our first dinner in Beijing was at Pizza Hut -- not my choice.
It was the most expensive meal we had in China.
David, Leslie, and I are ready for our tour of the Hutong, the narrow streets of Beijing,
including a home-cooked lunch, the best meal I had on our visit to China.
including a home-cooked lunch, the best meal I had on our visit to China.
 (Above) The table is set for our scrumptious home-cooked meal in a Beijing Hutong. (Right) Mrs. Ging's kitchen |  |
On week three I gave in and enjoyed some KFC, despite my snobbery.
2010: Los Angeles, California
I had my first Chick-fil-A meal on a tour with my class at the
International Tour Management Institute. I was hooked!
2011: St. Helena, California
Our first on-the-road cooking class at the Culinary Institute of America
at Greystone in St. Helena, California. The chef demonstrated how to
make some Vietnamese dishes. Susan fell asleep in the front row.
2011: Marrakesh, Morocco
A visit to Jemaa el-Fnaa to sample the local foods
 I tagged along with the younger travelers who were much more adventurous than me.  I stuck to the chicken. |  Rachel trying the snails |
Rachel said the sheep brains were quite buttery and well-seasoned.
2011: Phnom Penh, Cambodia
| Fried crickets for a snack  | James eating some CFC, Cambodian Fried Crickets  |
2011: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Selling pigs' feet in the market
 (Above) From the left: The Filipino-Canadian woman who traveled with us in the rain, one of the chefs, me, and Susan. (Right) Our cooking class in Vietnam, where we made decorative vegetables, spring rolls, catfish, and Bánh xèo, traditional Vietnamese crepes. |  |
2012: Peru
We took a cooking class in Lima at Sky Kitchen, a penthouse apartment.
 Chef Yurac teaching us how to make tamales |  The table was set for a delicious dinner. |
 Susan pressing the garlic |  Finishing our tamales |
 |  Above: Guinea pigs scampered under our feet as we ate dinner. I didn't try one. Right: One of guests who was brave enough to try the guinea pig, or cuy. |
2013: Sorrento, Italy
Susan signed up up for a cooking class making several dishes from the Campagna Region of Italy.
 Chef William Gargiulo Old Taverna Sorrentina Cooking School |  Chef William gets us started with dough for the gnocchi |
 Bruschetta with garlic, tomato, olives, and mozzarella  |  Chicken escalope: chicken cutlet topped with tomato, mozzarella, basil, and white wine  Above: Our tiramisu was delicious and not very difficult to make. Left: Our finished gnocchi on our outdoor table |
2014: Nashville, Tennessee
My trip to Nashville with my two children and their significant others was all about food.
 Breakfast at the Loveless Cafe |  Loveless Cafe is famous for its biscuits. |
 We had a coffee break at Barista Parlor. |  Hot dog lunch at I Dream of Weenie |
 Fried chicken at Hattie B's |  Barbecue and ribs at Peg Leg Porker |
2014: Adelaide, Australia
The first time I tasted pavlova was on our home visit in Adelaide.
The dessert was named for the Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova.
Kiwis and Aussies each argue that the meringue and fruit dessert originated in their countries.
The dessert was named for the Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova.
Kiwis and Aussies each argue that the meringue and fruit dessert originated in their countries.
2014: Auckland, New Zealand
This was the first time I tasted golden kiwis. After eating one I
kept my eye on the table for a chance to grab a second golden kiwi.
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2014: Haast, New Zealand
We visited Haast for the local delicacy: whitebait. Not one of us liked it, but at least I tried it this time.
 Haast is a small town on the west coast of South Island. |  Whitebait is the term for the immature fry of fish. They are cooked whole. |
 The whitebait is mixed with a lemon mayonnaise and fried like pancakes. |  South Islanders make a whitebait sandwich on white bread. |
One of my fellow travelers felt the same way about eating the whitebait sandwich as I did.
2015: Dubrovnik, Croatia
We had homemade walnut grappa on our home visit in Dubrovnik. Grappa is an alcoholic
beverage: a fragrant, grape-based pomace brandy with a high percentage of alcohol.
2015: India
Making chapatis at Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, a Sikh Temple, for a community meal.
We had a scrumptious home-cooked dinner in Jaipur, where our host also gave us some lessons
in how to make rati. Our tour guide, Dil, took us to a local market and also gave us a cooking lesson.
 Our home-cooked meal in Jaipur  Dil demonstrating dinner at the OAT camp in Rajasthan |  Our home host showing us how to make rati  The market in Karnataka in Southwestern India, where we bought the ingredients for our dinner |
2017: Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
The biltong on top of the steak is similar to jerky.
On our last night in Zimbabwe we had a tourist dinner with music, dancing, and local foods.
 Rachel was one of the few willing to try a mopani worm. She did not like it. |  Mopani worms are actually a species of the emperor moth. |
2017: Cape Town, South Africa
Rachel and I had dinner at a local seafood restaurant on the waterfront on our first night in Cape Town.
 Harbour House Restaurant V&A Waterfront |  Kingklip and prawns Harbour House Restaurant |
That Sunday, when most everything was closed, Rachel found a delightful brunch at Kloof Street House.
 Jazz brunch with delicious drinks |  The menu at Kloof Street House |
2019: Taormina, Sicily
Shopping for our Porto Messina cooking class at a local market
Debi and Nancy are in the back row. Claudia is holding the fish, and Linda is standing next to her.
Our five-hour cooking class at Porto Messina
 Our is bread cut and being readied to be served to other restaurant guests. |  Cooking Sarde a Beccafico, a traditional Sicilian dish of sardines stuffed with tomatoes, parmesan cheese, and bread crumbs |
 Luca, our cooking teacher, and me  (Above) Lisa and Nancy made eggplant parmesan that was served at the restaurant. We devoured the other eggplant ourselves. (Right) The maccheroni we made was delicious. |  Lisa making eggplant parmigiana with the chef  |
2020: Camaguey, Cuba
Our home-cooked banquet at Rancho Zaragozona
